As a Class A student, Katsuragi possessed the pride of a Class A student.
Therefore.
Class A was not allowed to be surpassed by Class C, and Katsuragi himself would not allow such a situation to occur!
"Katsuragi, are we still looking? Or rather, are there any more bases for us to occupy?"
Yahiko asked, panting and leaning on his knees.
They had spent most of the day looking for this base and finally found it. It was incredibly lucky. So, were there really any bases left that Class C hadn't occupied?
He wasn't very confident.
...
Katsuragi fell silent, because he didn't know either. His confident and cautious self had his pride cruelly shattered in just two or three hours after landing on the island.
Sakayanagi.
Is this why you value Hikigaya Hachiman?
But he couldn't stop here now.
While on the ship, Katsuragi had taken the initiative, ahead of others, to draw and memorize the entire topography of the island.
And after the teacher announced the competition rules, he was even more ecstatic.
He immediately searched his mind for possible base locations.
And in fact, his judgment was correct.
Along the way, most of the places he judged to have bases indeed had card readers. However, the problem was that all those machines had already been swiped.
And, every single time, it was Class C!
After finally getting rid of the shadow of Class C and securing a base of their own, Katsuragi and the Class A students regained their confidence and began to expand outwards, hoping to occupy more bases.
However, when they spread out to search the surroundings, they despairingly discovered that all the surrounding bases had already been occupied by Class C.
Their base was like an isolated island, surrounded by Class C's bases.
"Keep looking."
Katsuragi said with a dark expression, his voice low, "This time, we're not looking for bases, we're looking for people!"
Katsuragi knew very well that he absolutely couldn't continue like this, couldn't continue to be led by the nose.
Many bases had been occupied, and their Class had already lost its advantage, while also being at a disadvantage due to Sakayanagi and Yahiko's deductions.
If they didn't make an effort, then this exam would result in Class C climbing up and them falling down.
And this was the result he least wanted to see!
So he knew he had to change his strategy.
"But how do we find them?"
Yahiko asked with a bitter, dejected expression, "We don't even know who the opponent is."
"Still look for bases."
Unlike Yahiko, who had almost lost all confidence, Katsuragi analyzed calmly, "But this time, we won't occupy them!"
"Not occupy them?"
Yahiko was slightly startled.
"Follow me!"
Katsuragi calmed himself, his gaze fixed on the distant jungle, and he let out a low shout before running ahead.
"Wait, wait for me, Katsuragi!"
Seeing this, Yahiko also hurriedly chased after him.
Although he didn't know what Katsuragi intended to do, as a subordinate, his job was to support him.
They continued forward, encountering two bases along the way, both of which had been occupied by Class C.
But Katsuragi no longer cared; he merely glanced at the bases, and as soon as he confirmed they were occupied by Class C, he ignored them.
Then he continued forward.
"Whoosh!"
Pushing aside the dense leaves, Yahiko's face suddenly brightened with joy. "Katsuragi, over here, I found it!"
Hearing this, Katsuragi hurried over.
Sure enough, a machine stood in front of Yahiko.
And the information displayed on it was: Unoccupied!
This was a new base that had not yet been discovered by anyone!
"No time!"
However, Katsuragi didn't rush to swipe his card; instead, he pulled Yahiko and ran towards a nearby bush.
"Kat—"
Yahiko called out, somewhat confused, but Katsuragi immediately covered his mouth and held him in his arms.
His eyes sternly warned him not to make a sound.
"Mmph!"
Yahiko could only nod hurriedly, indicating that he understood.
However, he still didn't understand the meaning of Katsuragi's actions.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long.
"Thud!"
In mid-air, a dark shadow flashed by, then landed steadily on the ground with a dull thud.
From behind the bushes, both Katsuragi and Yahiko watched in astonishment as the sturdy, blond-haired man suddenly appeared.
"He, he actually flew over! Is he Tarzan?"
Yahiko's face was filled with shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He never imagined that such a scene from a movie would actually appear in this world.
The other party was actually swinging through the forest like a monkey, using tall trees and thick branches for support.
No wonder, no wonder they couldn't catch up to him.
This speed was simply incomparable!
"Doesn't he get tired?"
Yahiko mumbled softly.
They had rested two or three times just walking, but the other person was supporting his entire body with his arms, which was much more tiring than walking.
Most people couldn't even hold their arms out flat for two minutes, let alone swing through the jungle like a monkey.
"Hmm?"
The blond-haired man suddenly turned his head and scanned the direction of Katsuragi and Yahiko with suspicion.
Katsuragi reacted quickly, pulling Yahiko down at the first instant.
However, the blond-haired and agile young man did not give up; instead, he walked towards Yahiko and his companion.
"Rustle!"
Suddenly, the blond-haired man forcefully pushed aside a bush.
However, there was nothing behind the bush.
"Am I too nervous?"
The blond-haired man muttered to himself, frowned, and turned to walk towards the machine.
And less than a meter away, behind another bush, Katsuragi was secretly peeking out, his face filled with lingering fear.
He saw the blond-haired man take out his Team Leader card and swipe it on the machine.
"Ding!"
With a soft sound, the machine's display changed.
The blond-haired man nodded with satisfaction, then, like a nimble monkey, climbed up a tree and disappeared into the distant forest in an instant.
Katsuragi, however, led Yahiko out from behind the bush and looked at the machine that had just been swiped.
"C Class 8:58:23."
"Did you see clearly?"
Katsuragi asked in a low voice, looking at the machine.
"I saw clearly."
Yahiko swallowed, somewhat excitedly, "That's Kouenji from Class C! He just swiped the Team Leader card! And the Team Leader card can only be used by the Team Leader, so he must be Class C's Team Leader!"
"Excellent, excellent!"
Yahiko was so excited he almost jumped, his original gloom swept away.
He even felt a little smug.
Even if Class C had a significant lead over them, what did it matter?
As long as the Team Leader's identity was guessed by other Classes, occupying more bases and getting more bonus points would be useless!
Let's go back.
Katsuragi's usually serious face also showed a hint of a relaxed smile.
Nothing else mattered; even if Class C occupied more bases, he wouldn't be swayed.
These things no longer affected him.
Because he had already grasped Class C's lifeline.
"Also."
Katsuragi had only walked two steps when he suddenly stopped, turned, and walked in front of Yahiko, sternly and cautiously instructing him, "Don't tell anyone about this. It's not that I don't trust the students in the Class, but this time we've been constantly losing, and if we lose even more points, then I'll definitely have to step down from my representative position. And if Sakayanagi takes the lead, the Class will be finished."
In other words, Katsuragi didn't trust the Sakayanagi Faction.
But he trusted him.
"I understand!"
Yahiko immediately nodded, a gloating expression on his face. "Let those flawed individuals from Class C be happy for a few days; when the results are announced, they'll realize it was all for nothing."
"It's good that you understand."
Katsuragi breathed a sigh of relief; he was afraid Yahiko wouldn't understand.
Keeping the secret about their discovery of Class C's Team Leader's identity was partly out of fear of alerting the enemy.
At the same time, he was also somewhat annoyed.
Not only had they occupied all the bases he recorded on the ship, making them run in vain and losing face, but they had also made him so embarrassed, almost losing his pride.
So.
Class C, enjoy the joy of fools.
After being utterly defeated by Class C for so long, it was time for Katsuragi to turn the tables.
...
Meanwhile.
At the center of the island, the White Tower.
A young man stood atop the White Tower, his hands resting on the railing, observing the scenery below.
As he had guessed, once one ascended the White Tower, standing there gave a sense of overseeing the entire situation, allowing one to view the surrounding landscape and suitable strongholds.
And as he thought this, Hachiman heard some faint sounds.
"You're back, Kouenji," Hachiman said.
"After all, it wasn't anything difficult," Kouenji said. "This Uninhabited Island is no problem; it's just an artificial island after all."
Just an artificial island?
Yes.
Standing on the White Tower, one could see fruit orchards, cornfields, and even half an acre of vegetable plots in some stronghold areas.
If the fruit orchards were straightforward, the vegetable plots, aside from being cultivated, had no other explanation.
So this was not an Uninhabited Island, but an artificial island that was being maintained.
It made sense; the School couldn't possibly let the students truly survive in the wild, as any safety hazards would be very troublesome.
"However," Kouenji continued, "I only occupied 20 strongholds."
20 strongholds.
When they arrived at the island on the first day, it was already 10 AM. According to the rules, points were acquired every 8 hours, with one point per stronghold.
So, 40 points could be obtained on the first day.
Then, from the second to the sixth day, cards could be swiped three times.
Thus, 60x5 = 300 points could be obtained.
This already totaled 340 points. The exam ended at noon on the seventh day; although one could swipe again in the morning, there would still be 300 points even without doing so.
The requirement for inviting Kouenji out was to obtain 300 points, and Kouenji would receive a reward of 100 Class evaluation points. It seemed he was preparing to just hit the 300-point mark.
In other words, Kouenji had a limit.
He was not willing to fully exert himself for the Class.
"And then," Kouenji continued, "occupying so many strongholds..."
"And having to swipe cards every day, my identity as Team Leader will definitely be exposed."
"And Hikigaya-kun, have you thought of a solution?"
Actually, Kouenji felt he had already been discovered.
His perception was also very strong; he could sense someone secretly watching nearby while he was swiping cards.
So the Team Leader's identity would likely be discovered. He felt it couldn't be hidden at all, so it was better not to hide it.
However, he had already thought of a solution but decided to test Hikigaya Hachiman.
Although his inner world was vast, if only he was working hard, wouldn't it feel unfair?
"You want me to think of a solution?" Hachiman asked.
"That's right, because I can lend you my speed and mobility, but you have to come up with the specific plan."
"Because," Kouenji said, "although I was given a reward of 100 Class evaluation points, Hikigaya, you yourself want to get into Class A, and even obtain enough points in this exam, don't you?"
Is that so?
Yes.
If it weren't for enough points, then the bait of rewarding students who are "sufficiently excellent and contribute greatly to the Class" would not be used.
In other words, Kouenji saw that Hachiman intended to accumulate as many points as possible in this exam.
So, now Hikigaya naturally had to come up with a solution.
However, "I don't think I need to think," Hachiman said. "Because if you've occupied 20 strongholds, even if you lose one or two strongholds in the coming days, you'll still have 300 points. And from the White Tower, it can be observed that there are probably twenty-five or twenty-six strongholds on this island."
"So, occupying only 20 of them means you've already secured a stable value of approximately 300 points."
"And Kouenji, you're a genius, right? Since you want to get this point value, you've naturally considered all possible situations. So you must have a plan for how to handle it after your Team Leader identity is discovered," Hachiman said.
In other words, he threw the responsibility back.
This made Kouenji smile slightly.
Because Hikigaya was not wrong.
It was precisely because it had already been prepared.
Among the rules for occupying strongholds this time, there was a clause: "The Team Leader cannot be changed without cause." So, conversely, if there was a "reason," couldn't the Team Leader be changed?
Thus, Kouenji and Hachiman began walking towards the Class students together.
...
Having completed the first round of stronghold swiping, Hachiman followed Kouenji back to the Class.
However, this time it was a bit different from when they arrived. He was initially carried by Kouenji... According to Kouenji, he was to be treated as a map first.
They would occupy the determined strongholds.
Then, they would head to the Central Tower.
From the Central Tower, information about the surrounding strongholds could be observed, so Hachiman remained at the Central Tower while Kouenji began to act.
The estimated number of strongholds was around 25-26, and Kouenji occupied 20, leaving the remaining five or six for other Classes.
He had also considered occupying all the strongholds.
Strongholds could be swiped every eight hours.
If other Classes hadn't found any strongholds, they could go to a nearby stronghold when it was close to eight hours and wait to swipe their cards.
Although this was frustrating, it was also a solution.
However, before waiting eight hours, they could only go to the beach first.
And if all three Classes were without strongholds and could only wait at the beach, they might be able to apply for an early end to the exam.
But in that case, the final Team Leader guessing phase would end early.
Hachiman did not want to miss out on that portion of points. So he hoped the exam could proceed normally.
Yes.
The points for this Uninhabited Island Exam were composed of three parts.
First, each Class was allocated 300 initial points. These points could be exchanged for supplies, and if students violated rules, these points would be deducted first.
Then, there were the points for occupying strongholds.
And finally, there was the phase where they could guess the Team Leaders of other Classes.
Guessing correctly not only invalidated the opponent's stronghold points but also caused the opponent to lose 50 points while gaining 50 points themselves.
This could create a minimum difference of 100 points.
For Hachiman, who wanted to reach Class A, how could he let go of Class A without Sakayanagi?
Of course, he would catch them and fleece them relentlessly.
And with that thought, Hachiman returned to the Class.
The students were still on the beach.
However, there seemed to be a conflict.
More accurately, it seemed they had started arguing.
They were bickering loudly.
For example, Hirata had said on the ship that he would help Yukimura, but now, the academic Yukimura was directly criticizing Hirata Yosuke.
"Hirata, you always accept all the unreasonable demands of emotional girls, don't you? What's the point of playing then, Hirata! This exam is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and saving these 300 points can add to next month's score! So, we must save points! These unreasonable demands cannot be accepted!"
Then he glared at the girls, "What's wrong with using the temporary toilet? The temporary toilet isn't unusable. Sudo-kun is using it just fine, isn't he?"
"That's different, I can't accept it!" Led by Karuizawa, the girls expressed strong rejection.
"Me too!" Ogihara Satsuki, from the same Class, also stood up.
"Unacceptable!" And some girls who usually didn't voice their opinions also expressed strong resistance.
...Hachiman.
Temporary toilet?
It could be seen that Chabashira was no longer at her original spot, but behind Hirata were some supplies, including tents, sunscreen, matches, and so on. These were provided free by the School.
But the temporary toilet seemed to be provided by the School.
So what was a temporary toilet?
Cardboard.
Bags.
Using cardboard boxes and plastic film as a cover, with waste collected in bags containing appropriate chemicals that could rapidly solidify, thereby reducing odor and discomfort.
But this was equivalent to a diaper, and a reusable one at that.
And there was only one temporary toilet, to be used by all 40 people in the Class in rotation?
...
It was torture.
Hachiman glanced over and saw Sudo clutching his stomach, "No, no, I need to go again quickly."
Then he walked towards the temporary toilet.
The surrounding students instantly cast subtle glances.
They seemed somewhat disgusted, and the girls, with even stronger attitudes, began to attack Hirata.
Hachiman already understood that the students in the Class were discussing (arguing) whether to use the initial 300 points to purchase a toilet.
The reason was probably... they had already seen Sudo use the free temporary toilet provided by the School.
Hachiman then walked over to Horikita.
"You're back," Horikita noticed him.
"Kouenji occupied 20 strongholds, securing 300 stronghold points," Hachiman briefly explained. "So, what's the situation now?"
"They want to use the initial points," Horikita said.
Although she was unwell, she had stayed there all along.
After Hachiman and Kouenji left, Sudo had an upset stomach and used the temporary toilet, and then... after he was done, Hirata asked people to clean it up.
As a result... some students' mental states exploded.